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AFTER THIS by Kevin Wallace

Published by Charisma House

Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Scattered…

Chapter 2 What Is This?

Chapter 3 This Is Just a Test

Chapter 4 Advance in Adversity

Chapter 5 After This

Chapter 6 Check Your Vision

Chapter 7 From Strength to Strength

Chapter 8 The God Who Is to Come

Chapter 9 Revival!

Chapter 10 Hell in the Hallway

Conclusion

Notes


Introduction

I have never lived outside of Tennessee. In fact, for most of my life I have resided within an hour’s

drive of Chattanooga. I was raised here, graduated high school here, went to college here, met my

wife and got married here, and I am raising my kids in Tennessee. Although I have traveled

thousands of miles, there is no place like the Volunteer State for me. At the end of every trip,

whether my plane is landing in Chattanooga or I am making the drive on I-75, I am always glad

when the familiar skyline and mountain ridges tell me I am home.

We live in Ooltewah, a quaint, almost sleepy, bedroom community of Chattanooga that is

tucked into the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountain range. The friendliness of its people and

a backdrop of beautiful scenery make our town a great place to live. One of the things we most

appreciate about our region is that we get to enjoy the full gamut of seasons and the unique beauty

they each bring. Of course, the seasons also have their distinctive difficulties as well. We get to

slide on the ice and snow in the winter, spend spring fighting pollen (which seems to accumulate

as high as the winter’s snow), bake in the near-triple-digit summer days, and rake leaves every fall.

As predictable as sunrise and sunset, the cycle of seasons never ends.

Seasons change, but not quickly. Certainly on some fall mornings, a chill can seem to have

abruptly arrived. On late winter afternoons, the sun can seem to have a warmth that is more May

than March. But those weather previews aside, the seasonal changes do not arrive suddenly, at

least not typically. Slow and almost undetected, completely lacking in drama, we shift from season

to season, one degree and a few minutes of daylight at a time. Yet, as slowly as their passing may

be, the seasons do pass.

This consistency of change brings a reality that can be either pleasant or unfortunate. If you

love the current season, the bad news is that it will not last forever. If you hate the season you are

in, the good news is that it will not last forever. Whether you are saying goodbye to the beautiful

summer days that you adore or good riddance the frigid temperatures and snowy hazards of winter

that you despise, in due time, the season will change.

The beauty of Tennessee’s seasonal shifts is not so different from anywhere else on the

map. No matter where you live, and in ways that have nothing to do with climate, life has a way

of changing seasons as well. Sometimes the change can feel devastating, a hard hit that feels totally

unfair. At other times, the change inaugurates new life, bringing us a fresh dose of joy and hope.

On some occasions in our lives that we find ourselves experiencing great success, moments in


which we feel as if we are living in showers of blessing. But we also have seasons of tragic loss,

abject failure, unimaginable suffering, and debilitating frustration.

The seasons of life, spiritual and emotional, have one thing that is unlike the natural

seasons. In the world of temperatures and precipitation, the seasons are rather predictable, designed

by God to follow certain patterns. This allows us to know with some consistency how long these

seasons will be and when they will end. But with the seasons of our lives, we do not have this

luxury. Some of our seasons are long and drawn out, while others are short and pronounced.

Most of you know what it is like to be in a place from which you wish you could escape.

Maybe you are there now. If so, I wrote this book for you, one who feels stuck in a difficult season.

Maybe it is a ministry place. Maybe it is relational. Or, it could be financial, spiritual, or any other

number of things. Whatever the season you find yourself in, God has something in store for you.

I call it “after this.”

I am confident in telling you that you have not yet experienced the greatest season of your

life. I know it is a bold statement, but I believe it—and not as some pie-in-the-sky wishful thought.

This belief is firmly rooted in the truth of God’s Word and the identity of God Himself. Your best

season is ahead.

Perhaps, I should offer a qualifier to that statement. I did not say it will be the easiest

season, the most relaxing, or the calmest season you have ever encountered. Nonetheless, I have

no doubt that the God of unfolding, unending glory has yet to reveal the fullness of His goodness

in your life.

Some may imagine that I am speaking about a hollow, materialistic kind of season, one so

shallow that you find yourself feeling like an adult sitting in a kiddie pool with lots of toys, all the

while wishing for deeper waters. That is not what I have in mind. Stepping into a greater season is

less about having more things and more about thriving because you are possessing a wholeness

and strength that come only from God.

A moment in your future is coming in which your life will come into greater alignment,

your steps will be become more divinely ordered, and your Christ-centered ambitions and efforts

will become increasingly favored.

As a recreational golfer, I spend most of my time trying to find the sweet spot on the golf

club. When I hit the ball on the sweet spot, it goes further, is more accurate placed, and sounds


better than when I hit it on the toe or heel of the club. The odd thing is, I usually hit the sweet spot

when I swing smoother, not harder. Controlled pace is more important that trying to kill the ball.

The secret to hitting the sweet spot is not swinging harder; it is to keep swinging. No matter

how many times you hit it into the water on the first hole, you just pick it up, move to the second

hole, and swing again, searching for that sweet spot. Nothing keeps me coming back for the next

round of golf like hitting the ball in the sweet spot.

We are about to find the sweet spot in our journey with Jesus. It does not matter how many

times you missed it. Forget the previous season. Let go of the feeling it gave you. Get back in the

game and swing again. Whatever you do, do not stop. This place you are in is not permanent. There

is an “after this.”

My job is not simply to persuade you to believe that. I sense an assignment to remind you

that you may have forgotten that God is good. Remember what Paul said in Galatians 6:9, “And

let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Let encourage you to prepare yourself for the thing God has been working on, both in you and for

you.

I am not sure what your world has felt like recently, but I have noticed a collective assault

against our hope. I have witnessed an unleashing of assassins of our future who have an agenda to

drain our dreams and destroy the expectations we have for divinely blessed tomorrows.

Whether it has been the barrage of images, stats, and reports regarding the carnage and

collateral damage associated with the COVID-19 pandemic or the unrest and division that has

permeated virtually every conversation in our society, the truth is we are living in challenging

times. Hardly a day goes by during which we do not see something that makes our heart sink or

causes our minds to be invaded with worry.

In addition to the challenges that our world is going through, I have noticed an increase in

the spiritual conflict being experienced by children of God. While some would be quick to reject

such a notion or pretend that we are exempt from warfare on this spiritual journey, a transparent

and honest assessment of our lives reveals that those who love Christ and walk by faith at times

find themselves being resisted and assailed by the enemy.

What is the response of the believer in such moments? The key to operating in victory and

thriving in this climate is to guard our vision, protect the expectation we have for a better future,

and keep the faith. Paul alludes to this reality in Ephesians 6 when he encourages us to put on the


whole armor of God. He does not tell us to put on the armor so you will be culturally hip and

socially relevant. He says to arm yourselves so that you will be able to stand. Too many people

have lost their ability to stand. We quit too early. We give up too soon.

When I think about those who have the ability to stand, to keep on believing, I am reminded

of a sweet old saint who was a part of our church family for decades. Betty Johnson was a church

mother who worked for the Lord nearly all her life. She often encouraged her pastor and anyone

else who preached the gospel from our pulpit with expressions of affirmation as they preached the

Word. She confirmed the message with a frequent “Amen!” and other key spiritual phrases to

encourage the minister and the church during the delivery of the message.

I will never forget my favorite phrase that she ever said. One Sunday, I was preaching

about the “more of God.” As I was laying the foundation for all that God had in store for His

people, I said, “Many people cannot comprehend the greatness of what God is getting ready to do

in their lives. Their minds cannot receive it.” Without hesitation, Mother Betty Johnson stood up

and said, “Lord, bless their feeble minds!”

That is my prayer for you. No matter the journey, the dead ends, the bad reports, the

spiritual conflicts or the closed doors you encounter, I pray that your mind would be so blessed

that you stand, you stick with it, and you see the next season of blessing and greatness that God

has for you.

There is an after this coming no matter what you have endured or are currently fighting

through. Satan may have planted the thought in you that you will never recover. In this book, I

intend to uproot that lie and plant seeds of hope as I introduce you to revelation that produces

greater expectation for your future.

Many people are familiar with the story of Joseph. His life seemed like a roller coaster at

times and offers us a clear picture of the ups and downs in the life of a person who walked in the

goodness of God. His journey began with unexplainable favor from his father and a dream from

God. As Joseph’s story unfolds, we discover that pain and disloyalty are part of the journey that

leads him to fulfilled dreams.

But “After”

After Joseph had been through betrayal, alienation, and the shame of being sold into slavery by his

brothers, he was eventually promoted to a place of honor and prestige as the viceroy of Egypt.


When the world was thrown into a famine, everyone was forced to go to Egypt to find food for

their survival. This situation resulted in the reuniting of Joseph with his brothers. As they came

into his presence to buy food from him, Genesis 42:8 says, “So Joseph recognized his brothers,

but they did not recognize him.” Perhaps they thought he would look defeated and rundown at this

point in his journey. After all, he had spent time in a pit, a prison, and in Potiphar’s house. But he

did not look like the pit he was left in, the scoundrel he was accused of being with Potiphar’s wife,

or the inmate that he was in prison.

They did not recognize him as the Pharaoh’s right-hand man because that isn’t how they

remembered him. They remembered leaving him alone and in slavery and could not recognize him

in a place of prominence and favor. In short, he didn’t look like what he had been through. You

may feel like the pit and the prison left an indelible mark on your life, but the grace of God is in

operation, and you will not look like all you have been through.

This book is a product of the challenges, tests, and the adversarial environments I have

walked through in my journey. Please make no mistake about it, the Lord has been good to me. I

have experienced the kindness and blessing of God in ways that have blown my mind. But often

we suspect those who have experienced a modicum of the favor of God to be people who have

been exempt from real challenges and pain. That is not the case.

We do not remember Peter for denying Jesus three times. We remember him for his day of

Pentecost sermon, the souls he won, and the epistles he wrote for our spiritual development. All

of those pieces of his legacy happened “after” his greatest failure.

We do not remember Lazarus for dying, stinking, and being entombed in grave clothes.

We remember him for being a friend of Jesus who was in a tomb in John chapter 11, then after

being raised from the dead, was sitting at the table with Jesus by the next chapter. We do not

remember Rahab and her harlotries. We do remember a woman who cooperated with the spies of

Israel, hid them from enemy, and secured her place in the hall of faith (Heb. 11:31). Mary

Magdalene could have been known by her promiscuity and the demons that were cast out of her.

Instead, she is enshrined in church history as a follower of Jesus who was the first witness of the

empty tomb (John 20:1-2).

The point is, if you are breathing, God is still writing the story of your life. See the glory

in your future. If you are not dead, Jesus is not done. You will see it, “after this.”


Chapter 1

Scattered…

Scattered…. Why begin a book with such a disturbing thought?

At first glance, you may see no need to read a chapter with this name. After all, you might

have everything together right now. You might be so blessed that, even when the lives of people

around you have been flung into disorder, your world is stable and constant. If so, please stay with

me. Resist the temptation to bail out on this part of the journey by skipping ahead. If you are not

walking through a difficult season now, it will arrive soon enough. Then you will need the truth

you will find here.

Have you been told that following Jesus exempts you from seasons of persecution and

pain? The reality is, no matter how positive our confessions are and how excited we are when we

say them, even the godliest among us have experienced tremendous trials and have faced the

threats of hell in our journey. Being scattered, experiencing havoc, and facing adversities are part

of life on earth. But when you do face these, the clarity you will find here will be a steadfast anchor

amid the chaos.

Yes, this is a chapter about turbulence. But triumph is coming.

The Model Church

The New Testament Book of Acts tells the history of the beginning of the church. Luke, the

physician who wrote it, details the church’s birth and foundational years with great care and

precision. His careful recording notwithstanding, the Book of Acts is far from being a mere catalog

of historical events in the lives of those early believers. Acts is the articulation of the kingdom

paradigm. Its pages reveal what the daily lives of congregations and the Christians within them

should look like.

C. S. Lewis, the famous Christian author and scholar, said, “A man does not call a line

crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”1 In other words, in order to evaluate what is,

we must know what ought to be. When we want to know what the Christian community ought to

be like in our generation, we look to the Book of Acts.

1 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1952), 31.


To explore this model church, we must look past its practices that applied to solely that

time and place, such as meeting exclusively in houses or synagogues. I do not advocate launching

archeological expeditions to determine whether the early church used pews or chairs, and I am not

going to instruct our worship leaders to limit the Sunday song set to first-century hymns. Methods

and strategies have certainly changed. That is to be expected. Nonetheless, Acts is still the blueprint

for God’s people.

Imagine a church that modeled itself after the church in Acts. Picture what it would look

like if every church followed the blueprint of operating in signs, miracles, and wonders. What if

our prayer meeting was the most attended meeting of the week? What if our gatherings were known

for launching evangelists and missionaries? What if worship experiences lasted all night? What if

the next time we went to the church, our leaders told everyone to wait and pray until God’s power

and presence was manifested in a tangible way?

That is what church was like in the Book of Acts. How amazing it must have been to have

experienced the crescendo of kingdom movement as revival broke out! The outpouring of the Holy

Spirit caused the church to grow from 120 gathered in the Upper Room into a movement that swept

throughout the region. The preachers in the early church were not caught up in rhetorical

competitions. Their goal was not to impress the crowds with their dynamic delivery. Their sermon

content was simple and straightforward: Jesus Christ!

On the day of Pentecost, after those in the Upper Room were baptized in the Holy Spirit,

Peter preached to the gathering onlookers. I would sum up his message in Acts 2:14–36 this way:

“You crucified Him. You buried Him. But God raised Him from the dead! He is alive! We have

seen Him! Now, repent and be saved!”

The message was as powerful as it was simple. Every time it was preached, a harvest of

souls came into the kingdom of God. Thousands who came to faith spread the gospel to their

friends and families. The Jewish temple was transformed from a space focused on rigid, religious

protocol into the epicenter of gospel power. The miraculous story of a lame man being healed in

the name of Jesus swept throughout the Jerusalem. Apostles were preaching on the streets, new

converts were sharing their faith in the marketplace, and the truth of Jesus fulfilling the Scriptures

was even being taught on the steps of the temple itself.

The first portion of Acts reveals a church exploding in growth as “the Lord added to the

church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The church was growing so quickly that


the apostles were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the needs of this new congregation.

Church leaders quickly recognized that, if they were going to have a healthy church community,

structure was essential. They had more growth, people, and ministry opportunities than they knew

what to do with. What a wonderful problem!

Don’t you love those times of abundance in life? Have you ever been in a season in which

everything you touched found favor? When we as ministry leader find ourselves there, we cling to

those moments with all our strength. It is in those seasons that we feel close to God. We feel

anointed and fulfilled. The sense that our labors are consequential energizes us to do even more.

These are the “ESPN highlight reel” moments of our lives.

That is exactly where the early church found themselves in the Book of Acts. They were

accused of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). This was no inconsequential group of

nobodies and misfits who were quietly gathering to discuss their marginalized belief system. No,

these people were getting things done! With no printing press, no satellites, no blue check marks,

and not even a savvy marketing strategy, these ambassadors of heaven were pioneering an invasion

by the kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hardship and Adversities

You might imagine that a church with such noble priorities and profound impact would have some

sort of immunity to adversity and attack. Our train of thought goes something like this: “Because

I belong to God and God is good, everything in my life will move forward without resistance or

opposition.”

If your inner dialogue sounds like that, you are not alone. This fallacious expectation has

emerged because of lopsided teaching in the body of Christ. One of the church’s greatest tragedies

is that much of Western theology about adversity is contrary to kingdom reality. Somehow, out of

self-serving attitude or ignorance, or both, we have created a gospel that promotes comfort and

prioritizes convenience for the individual rather than a wholistic understanding of how God works

in our lives. I often see teachers and preachers migrate to their favorite texts as proof of the

perpetual bliss that awaits the child of God in this life. And, like many other things in the Western

world, it sells.

I would love to tell you that Christianity is the spiritual equivalent of Disney, “The Most

Magical Place on Earth.” I love people, and that means I hate to see them hurt or disappointed. I


wish I could tell you that conversion meant instant paradise in your daily life. But I cannot because

I have read the Book of Acts.

Acts is a great counterbalance to unhealthy, theological imbalance. The writer never

attempts to sanitize the pain of these devoted Christians, nor is there any attempt to water down

the accounts of persecution they experienced. Affliction is never presented as some strange

occurrence. On the contrary, terrible suffering seemed to be the norm for believers in Acts. The

hardships experienced by the early church reveal an uncomfortable truth: godly, favored, and

anointed people still encounter challenges and opposition.

In our world of positive affirmations and optimistic thinking, the content of this first

chapter may seem like an unnecessary negative confession that we are not inclined to consider,

much less embrace. But I want to say this clearly: if you have experienced pain and frustration, if

you have ever felt disappointment and discouragement, please stop telling yourself that means you

are not blessed and highly favored by God. We need to cultivate a more robust theology regarding

suffering and pain. We should not become obsessed with anguish. I certainly do not propose that

we spend our days wallowing in despair. However, we must stop getting so offended and shocked

when setbacks and hardships occur.

Discipleship is not an adventure in self-fulfillment and self-aggrandizement. True faith is

not contingent on the size and scope of the “Christian benefits package” we receive when we enter

the kingdom. True Book-of-Acts faith is walking the path of commitment when we can barely see

through the tears. It is lifting our voices in praise when we feel a lump of disappointment in our

throats. It is doing the right thing even when our skin is stinging from the falling cinders of our

burned-up plans. This faith is lifting our hands in surrender and worship when pain is gripping our

hearts. It is trusting God when it feels as if everything else we had confidence in let us down. This

Acts kind of faith is understanding that just because God did not keep us from the trial does not

mean He cannot keep us through it.

Of course, it is one thing to talk about walking in faith when you are reading a book about

it and quite another when you are blindsided by trouble. That is exactly what happened in Acts.

The disciples were in the middle of making history for the glory of God. They were literally

walking out the greatest story ever told. They saw mass salvations, incredible miracles, and the


greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit the world had ever seen. Then, seemingly out of nowhere,

the story turns on its head.

In Acts chapters 6 and 7, we find the story of Stephen. He is one of seven believers chosen

to serve the early church. He performed signs and wonders but was opposed by some Jews who

argued with him. They brought him before the Sandhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. During

a captivating defense, Stephen accused the Jewish leaders of resisting the Holy Spirit. He was

dragged out of the city and stoned.

In the next few sentences, a handful of riveting phrases reveal what happened next:

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they

were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And

devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for

Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women,

committing them to prison.

—ACTS 8:1–3

When reading Acts chapter 8, we must be careful not to write this off as an isolated attack

reserved for the first-century Christians who pioneered the work of the kingdom in their

generation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their suffering was not unique to their city or

even to their time. It was simply part of their Christian journey. In fact, we would have a hard time

finding any time or place in Scripture, or even in the entirety of church history, in which true

disciples did not experience some hardship.

Even our Lord Himself prepared us for this sobering reality when in John 15:20, He said,

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted

Me, they will also persecute you” (MEV).

We must never forget that as children of the light who advance the kingdom of God, we

are living in an antagonistic world filled with opposition, hostility, and persecution. If you require

affirmation from the world, you will find yourself living in frustration and isolation. In fact, Jesus

told us we should expect to be hated by the world around us (John 15:18–19). You may think that

being hated by the entire system around us does not sound like “American health, wealth, and

happiness Christianity” at all! You would be right. If you are looking for a way to avoid discomfort

in your life, Christianity is not the place to go.

Disturbing Words


If the gospel you have heard preached has been the fiction of earthly bliss instead of the good news

of heavenly hope, then reading this chapter may be disturbing to you. Becoming disturbed is the

most common reaction for a Western Christian reading the Book of Acts. In fact, tucked into the

chapters of Acts are a number of disturbing words.

Persecution

First, Luke describes the early Christians as facing seasons of persecution. The concept of

persecution is that someone or something is chasing you to harm you. To paint the picture, Luke

uses the Greek word diōgmos. Pardon the lecture, but the root of diōgmos is the word diōkō, which

describes the act of pursuing an object of prey in war or while hunting.2

Persecution is not an arbitrary bad day. It is a full-throttle attack that has you running for

your life, crashing through the underbrush of confusion, miles from the well-beaten path of your

best-laid plans while the vicious hounds of hell bay out the news that they are on your trail. Being

persecuted means never feeling relaxed or enjoying the moment lest you be caught off guard. It is

lying awake at night while everyone else in your house sleeps because your problems are singing

a duet with your fears, caterwauling the ballad of your destruction. The believers in Acts were on

the run like prey being hunted, chased, and pursued. They lived in constant fear of being stalked

by something out to destroy them. Being harassed and hindered, fleeing like prey—that is the

feeling of persecution.

In Psalm chapter 3 David is running from Absalom when he cries out, “LORD, how they

have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of

me, ‘There is no help for him in God’” (vv.1–2). Have you ever been there? Have you ever felt

pursued or surrounded? That is Acts persecution.

Havoc

As if feeling like prey was not bad enough, Saul “made havoc of the church, entering every

house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Though Saul

later had a transformative experience with Jesus and served the church as the apostle Paul, then he

was a zealous Pharisee, creating havoc by hunting down Christians.

2 Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “diōgmos,” accessed June 16, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1375/kjv/tr/0-1/; Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “diōkō,” accessed June 16, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1377/kjv/tr/0-1/; Bill Wenstrom, “Dioko,” Wenstrom Bible Ministries, accessed June 28, 2021, https://www.wenstrom.org/downloads/written/word_studies/greek/dioko.pdf.


https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1377/kjv/tr/0-1/

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1377/kjv/tr/0-1/

First, what is havoc? Perhaps you are thinking, “I don’t know what it is, but I want nothing

to do with it!” I am right there with you. If persecution is the pursuit, havoc is what happens when

the prey is finally caught. In fact, when Luke says, “Saul made havoc” (Acts 8:3), he uses the

Greek word lymainō to describe what Saul is doing. It is an intense word, used only here in the

entire New Testament. In the Greek translations of the Old Testament, this word is used in

reference to “wild beasts, such as lions, bears, and leopards tearing at raw flesh.”2F

3

Havoc is when the thing you feared happens. It is being caught in the flashing whirlwind

of teeth and claws as lions tear you limb from limb and all chance of escape is gone. It is when the

doctor says, “Cancer”; the mechanic says, “Bad transmission”; the boss says, “Fired”; and your

spouse says, “Divorce”—all in the same month. When the very fabric of your life—the dependable

people, places, and routines—are shredded by a marauding enemy, that is havoc.

Havoc is precisely how to describe the situation the saints found themselves in. Pardon the

pile on, but this havoc was not an isolated event. In Acts 8:3, the verb translated as “make havoc”

or “to ravage” is an imperfect verb. That means Saul was ravaging in an ongoing sense. Scholar

James Boice described it this way: “he ravaged it and kept on ravaging it.”4 There seemed to be

no end in sight. Every time they turned around, they found the enemy on their heels. You have

heard the saying, “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” In Acts, the church was fleeing from a

fire to a bigger fire, repeatedly.

Perhaps the most ominous observance about this season is that Saul made havoc in “every

house” (Acts 8:3). The enemy literally invaded homes. This was not just an attack on the corporate

body of believers. No, this onslaught involved ravaging individual households.

When we are trying to advance the kingdom, one of Satan’s greatest strategies is to wreak

havoc among those who are closest to us and who matter the most. Nothing can distract or hinder

us like a spiritual home invasion. When someone’s home has been broken into, they often describe

the feeling as having been violated—suddenly feeling unsafe in the place that is supposed to be

their refuge, their place of respite in the midst of a tumultuous world. Few things are more effective

at invoking fear than destroying the feeling of being safe at home.

3 John B. Polhill, The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture: Acts, vol. 26 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1992), 234. 4 James Montgomery Boice, Acts: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), 132.


The enemy is aware of our dependence on home. Furthermore, having observed the modus

operandi of God’s operation in the courts of heaven, Satan knows that kingdom structure is

predicated on home structure. If you do not believe me you have to look no further than the attack

on the family in the garden. Thus, the home is often the highest value target on hell’s hit list. If

you have ever been through a real battle in your home, you know just how difficult it can be.

Some of you are in the middle of a home invasion right now. Someone reading this feels

as if the enemy is harassing and chasing you. Your house may be caught in the crosshairs of

demonic attack. The home that was your place of peace has become a war zone. The people closest

to you are under attack, perhaps in their health and their mental well-being. Anxiety is at an all-

time high, and the pressures of the day have made communication a minefield. Maybe your

children are under spiritual onslaught. Maybe your marriage is under fire. Maybe things have come

against your family that you never imagined you would face. If that is you, do not be surprised.

Attacking your home is a common tactic of the enemy, particularly if you are a threat to Satan and

his work. I am not saying it is easy. I would not wish “home havoc” on anyone. But there is help

in the pages ahead.

We should take a moment and recognize how the enemy works. First, the kingdom of

darkness does not waste time on people who are not a threat. If you are experiencing any kind of

persecution or havoc, stop right now and recognize it as an attack whose intent is to keep you from

moving forward. The enemy is not wasting war on you. You would not be in this fight if you were

not an existential threat to Satan and his destructive agenda. If the enemy is trying to terrorize your

present, then he is terrified of your potential.

Second, you are not being attacked because you are forgotten. Instead, you are being

attacked because you are favored. Favor attracts both blessings and enemies. In 2 Samuel 5:17, the

Bible says, “When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went

up in full force to search for him” (NIV). His inauguration into authority was an invitation for

opposition. Can you imagine receiving an anointing from God and that blessing becoming the very

summons sent to your enemies announcing that the time for attacking you has come? That was

David’s experience.

Jesus also experienced this conflation of blessing and opposition. In Matthew 3:16–17, we

read that as soon as Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water, heaven was opened, and the


Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove. A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I

love; with him I am well pleased” (NIV).

What a moment for Jesus! I cannot imagine a more victorious event. Heaven opens. The

Holy Spirit descends. The Father breaks through the barrier of time and space to announce in the

earthly realm that Jesus is indeed the Son who is beloved by the Father. Yet the next verse declares,

“Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1,

MEV).

How could that possibly be the next verse? It does not even seem logical. Why all the

affirmation and honor if the next moment is going to be the trial of a lifetime? But that is exactly

the way God planned it even though it may have seemed as if the monumental moment of

affirmation served as an invitation for the wilderness temptation.

Scattered

So far we have witnessed the enemy’s efforts to stifle any prospect of God’s kingdom and

His righteousness being advanced. We can picture the heartbreaking procession as Stephen’s

bruised and broken body is carried to a tomb. We can hear wailing women as their husbands are

hauled off to face the authorities. We can see grandparents trying to hide their fear from their

grandbabies as the news of Saul and his terrible mission spreads through the community. Yes, we

can imagine saints running for their lives, looking for places to hide, begging for people to take

them in, for someone to get them to a safe city. We have seen some dark things.

The final word that describes the unfolding season that we witness in Acts 8 is scattered.

In fact, twice chapter 8 reports that the people of God were scattered (vv. 1, 4). First persecution,

then havoc, and now the people of God are forced to flee from the comfort of their homes. Their

lives are totally disrupted. Their plans are eviscerated, their dreams jeopardized, and their futures

look bleak. They found themselves in unfamiliar environments, away from the security of home.

They had been scattered.

The early church enjoyed community among the believers in the first church in Jerusalem.

Realistically, who would want to leave this church? All the apostles were there—the greatest

preachers of the day. They had experienced vibrant growth in number and were riding a wave of

tremendous momentum. Signs and wonders were abounding, pastoral care was taking place, and

Christian fellowship was readily available. It was powerful. It was safe. Leave? No thank you, this

church is awesome!


No matter how amazing the Jerusalem church was, the ministry of the gospel was never

intended to be confined to one place. Perhaps the church at Jerusalem seems familiar to us because

they did church in ways that match our modern ideology. How many came? How many stayed?

How do we connect to new believers and keep them satisfied so they never even think about

leaving? Sometimes, even unconsciously, the church can position itself in ways that cause it to

miss the missional assignment Jesus called it to.

When the church is myopic and self-focused, the focal point can become a pursuit of

creature comforts rather than gospel expansion. When the church is missing the target, God will

work through whatever drastic measure necessary to realign His people with their God-given

purpose. Although I would never suggest God sent the persecution the early church experienced,

He certainly worked through it in ways that made the church more effective and more of a spiritual

force to be reckoned with.

Advance in Adversity

We may not recognize it, but in Acts chapter 8 we witness God sovereignly working behind the

scenes to catapult His gospel to places and people who might never have been reached without the

suffering that forced the scattering of the believers.

Let us remind ourselves that we are not involved in a myopic, me-centered movement that

focuses on self-preservation. We are a part of an advancing tribe of people who have been called

to go into all the world and disciple nations (Matt. 28:19–20). God worked through the persecution

to plant gospel seeds all over that region. Without the persecution, the first believers might well

have remained a centralized church, stuck in Jerusalem, with limited influence and capacity. That

was not God’s plan, so He allowed them to be scattered.

Two words are used for “scattering.” One describes the kind of scattering you do when you

throw fireplace ashes out the back door. The other kind describes the intentional act of scattering

seed.5 The first is done with no thought of future purpose. The second is done with the harvest in

mind. That is precisely the kind of scattering that Dr. Luke had in mind when he said the church

was scattered. It was not that God sent persecution to destroy the church and cast it out like burnt

5 David Guzik, “Philip and the Samaritans,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed June 29, 2021, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Act/Act-8.cfm?a=1026001.


up ashes. They were not forgotten; they were favored. God saw the potential of the church and

refused to allow them to limit their effectiveness by staying stuck in a place of comfort.

Maybe this story sounds familiar to you. Perhaps things were going well so you settled into

blessed and peaceful times. Then suddenly, an unexpected storm arose on the sea of your life.

Maybe your ministry was sailing along with success, and then a pandemic hit, leaving you with an

empty building and an even emptier heart. Perhaps your house seemed so blessed. The smiles in

the family pictures were genuine. Then your son or daughter grew distant, and one day the dreaded

call came: overdose. Maybe your life was a dream, the envy of all your friends, and out of nowhere

the enemy attacked and left you devastated by divorce or rocked by a spouse’s infidelity. Was it

bankruptcy? Was it a failed business launch? Was it a career failure? Was it the sudden revelation

of a hidden betrayal? Whatever it was, yours is not an isolated story of sorrow. These faithful first-

century Christians went through it too.

We are called and created to advance in adversity. Realizing this will help you make sense

out of the messy seasons of life. This should especially resonate for those of you who have asked,

“Why is this happening?” That was the question I found myself mulling over as I dove deeper into

this text: “Why are these New Testament believers experiencing this season of attack?”

If you have ever watched football, you have occasionally missed seeing all the action

during a consequential play. The broadcast team helps you out by showing a zoomed-out replay

showing the entire field of action. Only then can you grasp the series of movements that led to the

triumphant moment. In the same way, when reading the Bible, we often find ourselves confused

until we “zoom out” to get a view of the story in the context of the entire redemptive narrative of

Scripture.

Perhaps right now God is allowing you to be stretched and challenged, but not so that you

will throw in the towel. You are mightier than you know. This season is proof of that. Instead, He

is working to position you for greater kingdom effectiveness and maximum spiritual impact. Your

present circumstances have not been in line with your potential. So, you are being scattered.

In His sovereign love, God used the evil persecution of Saul and those who hated the church

to advance the kingdom. The havoc and hell that the early church encountered positioned them for

an explosion of growth. Without the scattering, the gospel might have died out in a few

generations. They did not understand what God was doing. But through their pain, God was

redeeming the world.


Hear me! What you survive will serve you. What does not kill you will wish it never messed

with you. You have been scattered, but not like meaningless ashes that announce God is through

with you. Quite the opposite. As for Jesus, for David, and for the early church, this season is not

the end of you. It is the beginning of your most effective moments. The pain, the persecution, and

every weapon that the enemy has used against you has pushed you out of the place you wanted to

be. If you are honest, you admit that you would have stayed in your comfort zone. But God sees

much more in you than you see in yourself. That is why you are being scattered.

Some of God’s greatest preparation is done while we are unaware. But very soon you will

see the handiwork of God in the seasons you were sure you would never successfully escape. In

fact, Abba is going to use your season of pain to position you for the greatest sowing and reaping

season of your life. If He allowed the enemy to chase you out of your Jerusalem, then make the

enemy pay by sowing gospel seeds and fulfilling gospel purposes everywhere you go.

When you understand this, then the times of turbulence make sense. Grasp this and you

will understand what our sovereign Abba has been doing during the seasons of threat and

opposition. You have been scattered, but now get ready to grow.

But first, looking deeper in your this seasons can position you to be prepared and used by

God.

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